BELLA VISTA — A new walking and biking trail was built in a day on Bella Vista’s east side - and it cost nothing.

Brent Stinespring, chairman of the Property Owners Association's recreation committee, and Clem Morgan, the POA's recreation manager, organized the day to build a trail at Blowing Springs.

“The walking trail is a dream of mine come true,” said Morgan, who also worked on the trail as a volunteer,

On Oct. 3, about 40 volunteers - including about a dozen children - brought power saws, shovels, pickaxes, loppers, rakes and muscles and started clearing a trail. The work began at 8 a.m., and the last of the volunteers leftaround 3 p.m., Stinespring said.

The group built the half-mile trail on a hill next to the RV Park and Blowing Springs Park, Stinespring explained.

The Property Owners Association didn’t have to pay anything, he added.

The trail is good for people of all ages who want to walk, run or bicycle in the area, several trail builders said. Some of them are members of the Friends at Slaughter Pen Trail, a group that helped build and maintain a biking trail in Bentonville.

Other volunteers came from Fellowship Bible Church of Northwest Arkansas in Lowell, Stinespring said.

Stinespring said he was impressed with “how fluid everything went, how positive everyone was and how well everyone worked together.

“Everyone, including the kids, jumped right in, found their niche in the entire process and onward we went. We finished more than expected, and sooner. We were even able to take some of the volunteers over to Cooper Elementary and clear out the future outdoor learning lab and the trail next to it.”

The project, which had been discussed at the August and September recreation committee meetings, came about after Cooper Communities Inc. gave permission for the POA to use the property for a trail.

Committee member Tim Hull and his wife, Julie, provided lunch for the group.

The two trails won't be the last of new paths in the area.

“We are working to finalize the best designs for trails on the same piece of Cooper property,” Stinespring said.

Sports & Recreation, Pages 13 on 10/21/2009

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